Prized fish the latest liquid asset for Asia's super-rich

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2008

JAKARTA (AFP) — Gingerly removing a black cloth from his aquarium, Erfin Hongdoyo beams as he unveils one of his most treasured possessions -- a large red, and very rare, arowana fish.

The ethnic Chinese Indonesian is proud owner of a 45-centimetre (18-inch) "scleropages formosus," a freshwater fish native to the wilds of Indonesian Borneo which is nearing extinction.

While the so-called "super red" arowana is disappearing in nature, demand for the undulating fish is booming in the tanks of Asia's rich.

And although breeding is only permitted in three countries -- Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore -- the arowana's growing popularity as a symbol of new-found wealth could be what saves it from extinction.

"I think it looks like a dragon," says...